1. Treylon Burks – Arkansas
Standing at 6’3” and wearing size 5XL gloves, Burks showcases incredibly strong catch skills while high pointing the ball. The Junior often uses his large frame to get physical with defenders. Alongside his physicality, Burks uses elite athleticism to win on the outside. He is fast for a man of his stature, yet fluid both off the line and in his breaks. On the field, Burks made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Razorbacks. He started 9 of Arkansas’ 11 games and caught 29 passes for 475 yards. As a sophomore, Burks continued his strong showings, as he caught 51 passes for 820 yards and 7 touchdowns in just 9 games. Overall, Burks is a special talent and looks like he may be in line to be the next great WR prospect.
2. Garrett Wilson – Ohio State
While Chris Olave barely edged Wilson as the statistical leader in the Buckeye’s WR room last season (Olave had 6 more yards and 7 more receptions), Wilson was only a sophomore while Olave was a junior. On tape, Wilson wins in all three phases of a WR’s route. First off, Wilson is a strong route-runner who makes quick breaks and does well to confuse opposing defenders before his cuts. Secondly, Wilson is an amazing athlete at the catch point. He’s 6’0” tall and has an explosive leaping ability to high point passes. Lastly, Wilson is also solid with the ball in his hands although it’s definitely not his strongest ability. Overall, Wilson is the kind of prospect that will check every box scouts want to see when the draft comes around next year. However, at just 192 lbs, it may help him to fill out his frame a little more prior to the pre-draft process.
3. David Bell – Purdue
Alongside Rondale Moore for the past two seasons, Bell was the other bright spot for the Boilermakers as he’s led the team in targets in both of the past two seasons due, in part, to Moore’s unavailability. At 6’2” and 205 lbs, Bell is an exceptional athlete with both long speed and excellent physicality at the catch point. However, he could improve on his route-running and separation so that he doesn’t have to lean on his physicality quite as much. Overall, Bell has an excellent build and emerging skillset that makes him incredibly interesting to watch for next year’s draft.
4. George Pickens – Georgia
While we’ll have the opportunity to further scout the other WRs on this list over the course of the season, we likely won’t be afforded the same opportunity with Pickens due to an ACL tear he suffered in March. However, Pickens has proved himself enough to warrant NFL interest in just the two seasons he’s played. In the 20 games he played across two seasons, Pickens hauled in 85 passes for 1,240 yards and 14 touchdowns. Outside the stats, Pickens is very similar to the aforementioned David Bell on the field. He largely wins by using his 6’3”, 200 lb frame at the catch point to bully defenders. However, Pickens looked quicker than Bell in the game tape we have from his freshman and sophomore seasons. In fact, I would likely give Pickens the three spot over Bell if he doesn’t lose any athleticism in the rehabilitation process. While we won’t be able to watch Pickens during the season, the storyline to watch with the Bulldog’s WR is whether or not he’ll declare for the 2022 draft.
5. Chris Olave – Ohio State
Ohio State is one of three or four schools that can really challenge for the title of “WRU”. In fact, the Buckeyes have had 10 WRs drafted since 2012, including Michael Thomas, Curtis Samuel, and Terry McLaurin. Alongside Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave is looking to continue this streak for State. Olave, having spent three seasons at Ohio State already, is a player that many expected to declare for last year’s draft.
Olave’s skillset does have some seriously elite traits. The first of which is his route-running, he has a large route tree and makes quick cuts while also making smart decisions against zone defenses. The rest of his skills likely won’t be special at the NFL level, but they are at an average NFL level.
Names to Watch
Zay Flowers – Boston College
While many people believe this upcoming WR class has a “big 5” with the players listed above, I personally believe the NFL may be looking at a “big 6” as I think Flowers will crack into the top tier. The Boston College product caught 56 balls for 892 yards and 9 touchdowns in just 11 games as a sophomore last season. On tape, Flowers often wins with his route-running and makes great catches deep down the field with strong ball-tracking skills. Unfortunately, Flowers may lack long speed, but his aforementioned route-running and elusiveness after the catch make him a real threat.
Justyn Ross – Clemson
If not for a terrifying injury, there is a very high chance that Justyn Ross would have been the top WR prospect in this class. He broke out early, putting up massive numbers as a freshman in 2018. However, Ross suffered a spine injury in 2019, missed all of the 2020 season, and was told he may never play football again. Ross refused to give up though, and he now finds himself cleared to play football once again. Ross has been an incredible player when healthy thus far in his career, so he is absolutely worth watching for next year’s draft.
Jaquarii Roberson – Wake Forest
Roberson didn’t post an early breakout as he played behind NFL WRs in Sage Surratt and Kendall Hinton. However, Roberson had a great 2020 while Surratt sat out. The Wake Forest wide receiver caught 62 passes for 926 yards and 8 touchdowns over the course of the shortened season, and he was the second highest-rated CFB WR by PFF. Roberson looks to be in line for yet another massive season for the Deacons in 2021 as his other highly-touted WR teammate, Donovan Greene, is likely out for the season.
